I have a friend who is 93 and still lives on her own and drives. She is amazing. However her hands are typically black and blue. This is primarily due to blood thinners. My mother was on Warfarin, a blood thinner, and I've actually noticed fewer bruises on her now that she is in hospice and they have taken her off all medications.
Excellent advice! I dealt with FIL having the 'thin skin' thing for the last few months of his life. I swear I could help him up out of his recliner and peel all the skin off his arms. And wow, could they bleed!
I did not use liquid skin--that seems brilliant! I was debriding many 'skin tear' 3 xs a day and I know the adhesive bandages just made it worse. I was using what his in-home CNA had left for him. FInally gave up with ANYTHING adhesive and used those mesh tubes to cover the gauze. It was better, but he did die with a lot of these tears on his body. They are generally not considered 'stitchable' so he was covered in patches. Poor guy. I was not prepared for the kind of care he needed.
two words. Thin Skin. I used to look at my Husband and a bruise could appear. It can also be related to medication. I used to take the Liquid Bandage stuff and paint it over the bruises so they would not open up. One of the surface bruises can lead to an open skin tear very easily. The liquid bandage reinforced the skin so it would not tear as easily. Do not try using a regular bandage, even the ones that say for sensitive skin, or won't pull, or easy off. The adhesive seems to weld to the skin making taking any bandage off difficult without tearing the skin. There are "wound prep" pads that can be used before a bandage is applied that makes it less likely to damage the skin. And there are special wound covers that can be used but I only got those when the Hospice nurse seemed to think it was necessary. (Used one 1 time for a blister on his heel)
She might also be bumping her arm either at the table or it could be anytime or anyplace where she is often and it does not take much of a bump to cause a bruise.
Check her posture, seated or while using a walker, or in other movements. It might be that she's sitting or moving in such a way as to create repeated bruises. I've been experiencing that as well, and am sure that w/o thinking, I'm bumping into or rubbing against something causing the bruises.
I think the other issue though is the thickness of her skin, since it tends to become thinner as we age.
Watch how she uses her arms, sits, and gets up, and monitor the bruises in connection with those movements.
Excellent advice! I dealt with FIL having the 'thin skin' thing for the last few months of his life. I swear I could help him up out of his recliner and peel all the skin off his arms. And wow, could they bleed!
I did not use liquid skin--that seems brilliant! I was debriding many 'skin tear' 3 xs a day and I know the adhesive bandages just made it worse. I was using what his in-home CNA had left for him. FInally gave up with ANYTHING adhesive and used those mesh tubes to cover the gauze. It was better, but he did die with a lot of these tears on his body. They are generally not considered 'stitchable' so he was covered in patches. Poor guy. I was not prepared for the kind of care he needed.
Thin Skin.
I used to look at my Husband and a bruise could appear.
It can also be related to medication.
I used to take the Liquid Bandage stuff and paint it over the bruises so they would not open up. One of the surface bruises can lead to an open skin tear very easily. The liquid bandage reinforced the skin so it would not tear as easily.
Do not try using a regular bandage, even the ones that say for sensitive skin, or won't pull, or easy off. The adhesive seems to weld to the skin making taking any bandage off difficult without tearing the skin.
There are "wound prep" pads that can be used before a bandage is applied that makes it less likely to damage the skin. And there are special wound covers that can be used but I only got those when the Hospice nurse seemed to think it was necessary. (Used one 1 time for a blister on his heel)
She might also be bumping her arm either at the table or it could be anytime or anyplace where she is often and it does not take much of a bump to cause a bruise.
I think the other issue though is the thickness of her skin, since it tends to become thinner as we age.
Watch how she uses her arms, sits, and gets up, and monitor the bruises in connection with those movements.